Peshwa

The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave the seat of Peshwa to Bajirao Ballal. During the reign of Shahu, the office of Peshwas were handed more responsibilities to keep the Jagirdars and Vatandars of the Maratha Empire from rebelling. After the death of Shahu I the empire had no male heir apparent; hence the duty of maintaining peace lay with the Peshwas till the heir apparent (Rajaram II) was of age. The Peshwas from the time of Balaji Rao became the supreme authority in Maratha empire and the Chhatrapati's position became nominal. thumb|alt=This painting represents one of the most popular Peshwas, Bajirao I is regarded as a military genius by many.His battles mostly involved long chases, [[Guerrilla warfare and ingenious utilization of cavalry. He fought in over 40 battles throughout his tenure as Peshwa and won all of them, most notably the Battle of Palkhed and Battle of Bhopal.|This painting represents one of the most popular Peshwas, Bajirao I who is regarded as a military genius by many. His battles mostly involved long chases, Guerrilla warfare and ingenious utilization of cavalry. He fought in over 40 battles throughout his tenure as Peshwa and won all of them, most notably the Battle of Palkhed and Battle of Bhopal.]] All Peshwas during the rule of Shivaji, Sambhaji and Rajaram belonged to Marathi Deshastha Brahmin community. The first Peshwa was Moropant Pingle, who was appointed as the head of the Ashta Pradhan (council of eight ministers) by Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Kingdom. The initial Peshwas were all ministers who served as the chief executives to the king. The later Peshwas held the highest administrative office and also controlled the Maratha confederacy. Under the Bhat family, the Peshwas became the de facto hereditary administrators of the Confederacy. The Peshwa's office was most powerful under Baji Rao I (r. 1720–1740).

Under Peshwa administration and with the support of several key generals and diplomats, the Maratha Confederacy reached its zenith, ruling majority of the Indian subcontinent. The subsequent Peshwas brought in autonomy and as a result later on many states were controlled and administered by the Maratha chiefs such as Scindias, Holkars, Gaekwads and Bhonsles though they often held allegiance to the Peshwa. The Peshwas decline was initiated when Raghunath Rao (Son of the great Baji Rao I) along with his wife Anandibai blinded by greed, had his 18 year-old nephew Narayanrao assassinated.